Environmental teams start nationwide pollution inspection of steel factories

China has ordered special teams to begin inspecting steel mills across the country to see how well they are complying with tough new pollution rules, the environment ministry said on Monday.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection said on its website that dedicated inspection teams will inspect major steel factories to see if they are meeting emission standards and have installed the appropriate monitoring equipment.

The sector is regarded as a major source of air pollution, particularly in North China’s Hebei Province, the coun- try’s largest producer of the metal and the location of seven of the country’s 10 smoggiest cities in 2015.

But the country has also been trying to make use of tougher pollution rules to help shut down aging mills and tackle a capacity glut now estimated at 300 million tons a year, according to the ministry.

China produced 804 million tons of steel in 2015, using about 70 percent of its total capacity and accounting for nearly half of global supply.